Case Study

DistillerSR Enabled the Abbott Diagnostics Team to Complete Literature Reviews 50% Faster

Challenge

Relying on Excel for Literature Reviews was Error Prone, Untraceable and Manual

No traceability

Anytime there was a question about a decision to include or exclude a reference, team members had to dig through hundreds of records stored in Sharepoint to find when that decision was made and who made it.

The risk for errors was very high

The process of screening references was 100% manual, every literature review was built on hundreds of tabs in excel spreadsheets.

No standardization

Reviewers were not working from a single inclusion and exclusion template which increased the chances for inconsistencies along the screening process.

Impact

Implementing DistillerSR Resulted in Faster Literature Review Completion and More Confident Regulatory Submissions

Clear, structured workflows

From screening to data extraction and reporting, our teams work within the same workspace and are able to ensure a consistent process.

Audit-ready records

Every decision is tracked and any questions from notified bodies can be answered with confidence.

Seamless collaboration

Global teams are able to work together regardless of time zone or location. Communication between reviewers also improved because now inclusion/exclusion conflicts can be resolved quickly.

We reviewed the current process of using excel spreadsheets for literature reviews and decided it was not sustainable moving forward – the chance for errors and the risk for rejected regulatory submissions was very high. DistillerSR brought method, structure and quality control to our literature reviews. Our teams now have streamlined workflows that are transparent, reproducible and traceable.

Dr. Victoria Samonte, Medical Director, Global Medical Operations at Abbott Core Diagnostics